Four-wheel driving device for motor-propelled vehicles.



. J. L. WARE. FOUR WHEEL DRlVING DEVICE FOR MOTOR PROPELLED VEHICLES.

APPLICATION man bcmmsls. A 1,201,.898, Patented Oct. 17,1916.

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1. L. WARE.

FOUR WHEEL'DRIVING DEVICE FOR MOTOR PROPELLED VEHICLES.

' APPLICATION FILED 0CT.H.1913.

1,201,898. Patented Oct. 17,1916.

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APPLICATION FILED OCT. H, 1913- Patented Oct. 17,1916.

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ran s'rarns PATENT OFF-ICE.

iTOSEPH L. WARE, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO TWIN CITY FOURWHEEL DRIVE COMPANY, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, A CORPORATION OF SOUTHDAKOTA.

FOUR-WHEEL DRIVING DEVICE FOR MOTOR-PROPELLED VEHICLES.

Patented Oct. 17, 1916.

Application filed'October 11, 1913. Serial No. 794,733.

To all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, J osnrH L. VARE, a citizen of the United States,residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Four-Vheel DrivingDevices for Motor-Propelled Vehicles, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to four-wheel driving devices for motor propelledvehicles and has for its object to--provide an all-shaft drivecontrolled by a single differential for directly driving each of thewheels of the vehicle, in combination with a framework to which saiddriving means is connected so as to tie the same securely and at thesame time permit adequate flexibility of operation.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear inconnection. with the detailed description thereof and are particularlypointed out in the claims.

In the drawings illustrating the applica tion of my invention in oneform: Figure '1 is a plan view of the'frame work of a vehicle embodyingmy improvements. Fig. 2

' is a side sectional view partly diagrammatic.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33.withsome parts omitted. Fig. '4 is asimilar section on line l4:. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional planshowing the arrangement of differ ential and driving mechanism. Fig. 6is a sectional detail at right angles to the showing of Fig. 5. Fig. 6is a detail of Fig. 6. Fig. 7 is an end view of the rear wheel hub. Fig.8 is an enlarged sectional view of the front axle structure and themanner of supporting and driving the wheel therefrom. Fig. 9 is asectional detail view of the flexible joint from the driving spindle tothe wheel spindle.

It may be notedat the outset that all of the driving parts of my machineare incased with the exception of the intermediate sections of drivingshafts. Not only are .all. gears incased, but the drive spindle of bothfront and rear wheels run in tubular casings so that no bearing portionof the entire mechanism is exposed to the dust and dirt so.

largely incident to the use of a road vehicle. The frame of my machine1s especially contrived to meet thearequirements of a fourwheel drive inwhich a combination of rigid-- ity sufficient to withstand all normalstrains and shocks and flexibility to permit accommodation of the partsto the irregularities of a roadway are essential without undue drainupon the power. The frame base comprises side beams 10 and 11, which, asclearly shown in cross section in Figs. 3 and 8, comprise pairs ofchannel irons 11 and 12 secured with the backs thereof engaging andhaving the flanges filled with strips 13 and 14, which may beof wood orother light and flexible I material, as desired. The frame members 10and 11 are secured together at a point near the rear axle by a cross-bar15, said cross-bar comprising a top plate and a depending flange member16, said top plate passing directly beneath the cross-bars 10 and 11 andbeing secured thereto by means of bolts 17 passing through the top plateand an over-strap 18 secured to said top plate at 19 and having aportion thereof extending above frame members 10 and 11,

' as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The frame members 10 and 11 are furthersecured together near the centers thereof by means of a crossbar 20 andon either side of said cross-bar 20 are half circles 21 and 22,respectively, which have the centers thereof bolted to cross-bar 20 andthe free end bolted to the frame members 10 and 11, bolts 23 and 24extending across the framework between the ends of said half circles.This structure,

which is in effect a reach, gives a framethat is capable of withstandinglongitudinal or tension strains of considerable magnitude and yetlwhichwill have a certain spring to it to permit torsional or twistingstrains. This reach-like frame in fact has functions of both the torsionrods and radius rods employed in many automobile frame structures. Italso has the effect of restraining the front and rear axles fromrelative rotary motion and maintains the axles substantiallyequidistant. It has about the same radius'movement as the side drivingshafts which avoids continual lengthening and shortening of such shaftswhen running over uneven roads. Furthermore, this reach-like frame takesa considerable part of the strain which in the common frame designs mustbe sustained entirelyby the springs.

Mounted directly upon the forward portion of the frame members 10 and 11are front axle castings 25, 'as shown in detail in Fig. 8, said castingsbeing the same at each tions 26 and 28 provide the 'side of the machine.The castings are provided with expanded casing members 26, havingthereon peripheral flanges 27 by which the axle castings are secured tosimilar casing members 28 on the end of a central axle member 29. Thecasing sechousing for the drive gears for the front wheels, as willhereinafter be described. At the rear portion of theframework a tubularcross axle 30 is secured upon the frame members 10 and 11, said axlecasting being provided with a central expanded portion 31 for thereception of the drive gearing for the rear wheels, as Will hereinafterbe described.

The tubular rear axle is provided with a peripheral flange 32 adjacentthe end thereof, outside of. which said tubular member comprises abearing spindle 33 for the reception of the hubs 34 of the rear wheels35. The aperture within said hub, as

a ring nut 39 which clearly shown in Fig. 5, is of greater diameter thanthe spindle 33, and an enlarged bearing portion 36 is provided withinwhich are roller bearings 37, one'end of said bearings engagingthe'flange 32, the other end coming against a shoulder 38 in suchenlargedportion 36. The wheels 35 are held in position upon the spindle33 by means of isthreaded upon the spindle 33 and enters an annularopening 40 in the end of the hub 34. Within the tubular axle 30 andextending in opposite directions from the expanded portion 31 thereofare drive spindles 41 and 42,which spindles extend beyond the end ofbearing spindles 33, the extended portion 43 of said drive spindlesbeing square, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 7. The hubs 34 are formedwith projecting lugs '44 extending parallel with the square portion 43.Adapted to seat upon the said square portion 43 is a star nut 45, thewings 46 of which engage between the lugs44. A cap nut 47 is threadedupon the outside of hub 34, setting the star nut 45 firmly in place andsecurely closing the end of the hub. The shafts 41 are of' smallerdiameter than the interior of tubular axles 30 and have a ball hearingas indicated at 48, adjacent expanded portion 31, within which theshafts are driven. The remainder of the shaft simply floats within theaxle and between said bearing and the point of attachment of the portion43 with the wheel hub through star nut 45, lugs 44 and cap nut 47. Ifdesired, bearing rings 49 may be held in position within tubular axle 30by set screws 50 at a point not far removed from the ball bearings 48.

Upon the inner end of shafts 41 and 42 and within the casing formed byexpanded portion 31 are double-faced bevel gears 51 and 52. A driveshaft 53 has the end thereof supported in a ball bearing 54 formed inthe expanded portion 31, said drive shaft and being supball bearing 54'gear casing 63 sewill later be decured to aplate casting 57 which isbolted to the open end of expanded portion 31, and a cap 55 threaded tothe open end of casing 63 has a bearing on sleeve 55. The shaft 53 isobliquely positioned relative to the planes of bevel gears 51 and 52 andhas thereon a bevel gear 58 meshing with the inner teeth of bevel gear52 at the forward periphery thereof, and a bevel gear 59 meshing withthe inner teeth of bevel gear 51 at the outer periphery thereof or atthe opposite-side thereof frombevel wheel 58. Bevel gear 58 does notengage bevel gear 51 and bevel gear 59 does not engage bevel gear 52. Itfollows, therefore,-that when shaft 53 is being rotated the respectivebevel.

gears 51 and 52 and shafts 41 and 42 will each be rotated in the samedirection,

The sleeve 55has thereon a bevel gear 60 meshing'with two bevel gears 61and 62 journaled in the casing 63 at right angles to the shaft 53. Shaft53 has fast thereon a bevel gear 64, also meshing with the bevel gears61 and 62, the entire arrangement when taken in connection with themethod of driving comprising a set of differential gearing. As clearlyshown in. Fig. 6, :the casing 63 is provided with a pair of parallelarms 65 and 66, between which extends a The head 67 has a central whichextends a bolt 70, Wings 71 and 7 2, having on each side thereofelongated depressions 73 and 74, respecries with it the gears 61 and 62,which,

meshing on opposite sides with the gear 60 on sleeve 55 and the gear 64on shaft 53, will drive said sleeve and shaft equally as long as theresistance to rotation of sleeve 55 isequal to the resistance ofrotation of shaft 53, under which conditions the gears 61 and 62 willremain stationary. Thisrotation of the sleeve 55 and shaft 53 in unisongreatly reduce the friction of the parts since there is normallyvnomovement between said shaft and sleeve, gear, 58 on I00 flat-sided head67 of 'main drive shaft 68. I r

notch 69 through and has two side sleeve 55 driving the shaft 42 andgear 59 on shaft 53 driving the shaft 41 at equal speeds and in the samedirection.

Theuneven resistances, such as are pro duced in the wheels at one sidein going around a curve when communicated to the transmission gears anddifferential. gears, produce on shaft 53 or the sleeve 55 a retardationwhich causes rotation of the gears 61 and 62 and a correspondinglyincreased speed of rotation on the other of said elements and anincreased drive in the wheels on the opposite side of the vehicle, anaction common to vehicles having differential gearing. It is to benoted, however, that in the gearing of my invention the differentialmoves with the drive shaft, all parts rotat- I ing in absolute unisonexcepting when the aforesaid dlfferential 1013-1011 takes place. Thegears 61, 62, and 60, 64 may all be made very small so that thedifferential casing (53,

as clearl indicated in'Fi 1 a) ears to be but a moderate expansion onthe drive shaft and involves very little added weight -of material. Itis also true that by placing the differential gearing in a separatecasing outside'of the transmission casing formed by theexpanded portion31 and the cap piece 57 the differential mechanism 'can easily be got atfor repairs and can quickly be removed from the device without havin todisturb or dismantle the transmission mechanism. It will be noted alsothat this differential, when compared with a differential in the usualposition in the hub of the gear drive, has a certain leverage over thedriven mechanism, and therefore can. be made lighter and smaller thanwould otherwise be the case.

It is true that in turning corners the front wheels on either side ofthe vehicle as compared with the rear wheels on the same side willstrike' an are of slightly greater radius so that the absolutedistancetraveled will be somewhat greater by the front wheel than the rearwheel. This variance is taken up in two ways, first, by absorption oflost motion through the various contacting-gears, and second, from thefact'that the side propeller shafts are made of spring material whichpermits a little twisting thereof that will immediately restore, theparts, including the propeller shafts, to proper relative position atthe moment when the wheels will leave the ground from bounding overslight obstructions, as will invariably take place sentiahthe spur gear81 not only operating to reduce the speed but the arrangement making itpossible to bring drive shaft 68 more nearly into the horizontal planeof the four -'wheel drive mechanism so that said shaft will not need tooperate at much of an angle. The differential within casing 63 is thusmade a part of the primary drive shaft, instead of, as is usual, beingformed in conjunction with the axle sections of the driving wheels.

The cap member 57 is provided with forwardly extended tubular bearingportions 83 and 84 cast integrally thereon. \Vithin the bearings formedinside of said members are shafts S5 and 86 having thereon bevel gears87 and S8 meshing respectively with the outside bevel gears 89 and 90 ondouble-.

faced bevel gears 51 and 52. The shafts S5 and 86 have secured theretobifurcated heads. 91 and 92 straddling flat'sided heads on' driveshafts-93 and 94, the parts being com:-

bined to form flexible and extensible'joints similar to that alreadydescribed by which shaft 68 is connected with casing member 03. Theshafts 93 and 94 are connected by similar flexible and extensible joints95 and 96 with short shaft sections 97. and 98 running in tubularbearings 99 and 100 on cap pieces secured to the united casing members26 and 28 heretofore described. Upon the ends of shafts 97 and 98 withinthe aforesaid casing is a bevel pinion 101 meshing with a bevel gear 102on the end of a shaft 103'extending through casting 25. The casting 25,as best shown in. Fig. 8, has two arms 104 and 105, each provided with acleft portion 106 and 107 respectively, within which engage tongues 108and 109 on arms 110 and 111 extending from the front axle spindles 112to which spindles are secured the "vided between the sets of arms 104,105 and 110, 111, a space .110. A drive spindle 117 is secured to-thefront wheel hub 118 at the outer extremity thereof in the mannerdescribed with respect to the spindles 41 and 42 of the rear-wheels.said spindle 117 having ahead 119 provided with two arms 120 I and 121extending within said space 116. Between the arms 120 and 121 isacircular disk 122, and between the faces of disk 122 and the adjacentfaces of arms 121 and 120 are sets of ball bearings 123 and 124. A bolt125 extends through arms 120 and121 and through an enlarged circular.aperture 126 the spindle sections is provided and antimovement 'uponsaid top plate.

132 and 133 of said rocker come beneath the friction or ballbearingsbetween said surfaces.

As clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the

bearing extensions 83 and 84 are tied down to the transverse framemember 15. To accomplish this a rocker 130 is secured. by means of a Ubolt 131 to top plate of crossbar 15 so as to be capable of some rollingThe nuts bearing extensions 83 and 84: respectively and are securedthereto by means of U bolts 134 and 135. This construction bindsthecombined castings 57 and 31 to the frame or reach and acts as a torsionrod of the automobile at a point considerably in advance of the otherpoint of attachment through axles 30, thus restraining the tendency tolift such castings when-the engine is started under load. At the sametime, the/rocker 130 will permit the necessary slight flexibilityrequired when the wheels rest upon sharply different levels, as happenswhen a wheel drops into a hole or goes up over an obstruction. Asclearly shown in Fig. 4, a'spring member 136 rests upon the centercrossbar 20 and has the ends thereof extended beneath the shafts 93 and94. U pieces 137 and 138 are secured to the spring member 136 and passesloosely over said shafts 93 and94 respectively. This operates to steadythe shafts 93 and 94.

The above arrangement of parts provides a four-wheel drive whichcombines the meritorious features of being in a high degree simple,absolutely exact in its operation, perfectly flexible so as toaccommodate the driving mechanism, without crampmg or binding, to all ofthe irregularities of the surface over which the machine is beingdriven, yet having no lost motion or parts which can rattle or becomeloose from wear. Moreover, but a single differential gear is employedfor the entire four-wheel drive, and that is inca'sed in the maindriving shaft. A four-wheel drive which employs sprocket chains cannotbe exact in its operation and cannot drive the wheels uniformly, asthere is always more or less lost motion for each of the chainsemployed, and yet the amount of lost motion will not be exactly the samefor each wheel. The element of lost motion in a four-wheel drive wherebyone or the other of the sets of wheels may be caused to effect theentire starting of the vehicle, is a'serious matter trucks and thestarting of the same presents the largest measure of difficulty. To getthe really effective results desired from a four-wheel drive it isessential that the four Wheelsbe rotated in unison, especially at thestart. It is impossible to effect such a result where sprocket chainsare employed, and even with an all-shaft drive if there are many gearsbetween the rear drive and the front drive there may be some lostmotion, which would injuriously affect the results obtainable from themachine. I have found that by setting the front wheels to drive a triflefaster than the rear wheels the best possible results are obtained, andaccomplish this by providing the bevel gears 102 of slightly lessdiameter than the bevel gears. 90 and 89, so that there will beone lesstooth or different grades of pitch in the circumference in such bevelgears 102 than in the circumference of bevel gears 89 and 90. Theprimarydrive is always through double bevel gears 51 and 52, having onthe backs thereof bevel gears 89 and 90, and the above describedstructure has the effect of taking up all play between the gear teethtravel slightly faster'than the rear wheels.

In practice this does not result in the slippage or wear of the tires ofthe front wheels, but merely has the effect of always keeping the shaftsand gears for the front wheel drive in tight contact so that the effective tractive force of all four wheels is constantly exerted insubstantial uniformity.

Machines'embodying the above described details of construction are builtand being put to extensive use. And the said. devices operate inpractice with a high degreeof efficiency. The machines built are trucksused for hauling heavy loads, and experimental tests have demonstratedthat allof the four wheels of the truck not only operate simultaneouslyin propelling the load when the same is in motion, but act absolutelytogether in starting the load. It is therefore found that where a heavyload.

is stopped in mud or sand or with the front wheels in depressions, itnevertheless may be started and driven without difliculty. It

it is unlikely that more-than onewheel on 'a given side will bepositioned in a soft place or hole. Of course, if a wheel does slip it.digs the-hole deeper and tends to destroy the tire. The constructionofthe differential of my invention, however, ef fects perfectlysimultaneous operation of the front and rear wheels on the same side.

said axle sections being providedwith bevel gears, a propeller shafthaving thereon bevel pinions meshing alternately and at opposite sidesof the axes thereof with the bevel gears on the rear axle sections, re-'versely-turned bevel gears on said rear bevel gears and shafts havingbevel gears meshing with said reversely-turned bevel gears and saidfront axle bevel gears.

2. A four-wheel drive comprising rear axle sections, a propeller shaftgeared to and at opposite: sides of the axes of said sections fordriving the same, a differential gear Within the extent of saidpropeller shaft, front axle sections and shafts for driving the frontaxle sections directly from the rear axle sections. V

3. A four-wheel drive comprising rear axle sections and means fordrivingthe same, each being provided at their adjacent ends withdouble-faced bevel gears, a propeller shaft, including a differentialgear, geared alternately and at opposite sides of the axes thereof withthe inturned bevel faces of said bevel gears, and shafts directly gearedto the outturned bevel faces of said bevel gears and to the front axlesections for driving'the latter.

4. A four-wheel drive" comprising rear axle sections and means fordriving the same differentially, front axle sections, shafts gear'eddirectly to said rear axle sections and said front axle sections fordriving the latter from the former, said gearing being so proportionedrelatively that'the front axle sections will be driven at a speedslightly greater than the rear axle sections.

5. A four-wheel drive comprising rear axle sections and front-axlesections, each of said rear axle sections having thereon -inwardly andoutwardly turned bevel gears of the same diameter and number of teeth,each of said front axle sections having thereon a bevel gear of slightlyless diameter and formed of one less tooth than the bevel gears on therear axle sections, means for driving the rear axle sections and shaftsprovided with identical bevel gears at each end meshing with theoutwardly turned bevel gears 'on the rear axle sections and the bevelgears on the front axle sections whereby the front axle sections will bedriven at speed slightly greater than the rear axle sections.

6. A four-wheel drive comprising rear axle sections each being providedat their adjacent ends with double-faced bevel gears, a propeller shaftgeared alternately and at opposite sides of the axes thereof with thein-turned bevel faces of said bevel gears, shafts directly geared to theout-turned bevel faces of said bevel gears and to the front axlesections for driving the latter, a casing for said bevel gears havingextensions forming elongated bearings for said shafts, a crossbar, and arocker secured'to the crossbar at its center and having'the ends thereofsecured to said extensions.

,7. A four-wheel drive comprising rear axle sections each being providedat their adjacent ends with double-faced bevel gears, a propeller shaftgeared alternately and at opposite sides of the axes thereof with theiii-turned bevel faces of said bevel gears, shafts directly geared tothe out-turned bevel faces of said bevel gears and to the front axlesections for driving the latter, a crossbar, and means for tying theshafts to the crossbar.

S. A four-wheel drive comprising rear axle sections each being providedat their adjacent ends with double-faced bevel gears, a propeller shaftgeared alternately and at opposite sides of the axes thereof with theiii-turned bevel faces of said bevel gears, shafts directly geared tothe out-turned bevel faces of said bevel gears and to the front axlesections for driving'the latter, a crossbar, and means for tying theshaftsto the cross bar, said tying means being movable relative tov thecrossbar.

9. A four-wheel drive comprising rear axle sections each being providedat their adjacent ends with double-faced bevel gears, a propeller shaftgeared alternately and at opposite sides of the axes thereof with thein-turned bevel faces of said bevel gears, shafts directly geared to theout-turned bevel faces of said bevel gears and to the front axlesections for driving the latter, a crossbar, a rocker loosely fastenedat its center to said crossbar, and means extending over said shafts forsecuring the same to the ends of said rocker.

' 10. A four-wheel drive comprising rear axle sections andfront axlesections, shafts geared to each pair of'front and rear axle sections onthe same side, said shafts being in the plane of the axle sections, amotor shaft above the plane of said shafts having thereon a pinion, aflexible drive shaft geared to drive the rear axle sections, andaspurgear on said drive shaft meshing with said pinion for effectingreduction of obliquely between said bevel gears on the shaft meshingindependently with and on opposite sides of the axes of nism outside ofsaid casing connected with said shaft, and meansconnected with thedifferential mechanism for rotating the shaft.

12. A four-wheel drive comprising rear axle sections and front axlesections and shafts geared to drive the latter from the former, bevelgears on the rear axle sections revoluble on the same axis, a shaftdisposed gears, bevel said rear axle bevel gears, one of said bevelgears being carried by a sleeve revolubly mounted upon the shaft, acasing inclosing the bevel gears through which said shaft and sleeveproject, a pair of equal gears mounted upon theends of said projectingshaft and sleeve, a drive element formed with an inclosing casing oversaid equal gears, and,

differential gears-journaled in the casing of said drive element andmeshing with 'sald equal gears.

13. A four-wheel drive comprising rear axle sectionsand front axlesections and shafts geared to drive the latter from the former, bevelgears on the rear axle sections revoluble on the same axis, a shaftdisposed obliquely between said bevel gears, bevel sides of the axes ofgears on the shaft meshing independently with and on opposite sides ofthe axes of said rear axle bevel gears, one of said bevel 7 gears beingcarried by a sleeve revolubly mounted-upon the shaft, a casing inclosingthe bevel gears through which said shaft and sleeve project, a pair ofequal gears shaft and sleeve,-

mounted upon the ends of said projecting- 14. A four-wheel drivecomprising rear axle sections and front axle sections and shafts gearedto drive the latter fromthe former, bevel gears on the rearaxle-sections revolubleon the same axis, a shaft disposed obliquelybetween said bevel gears, bevel gears on the shaft meshing independentlywith and on opposite sides of the axes of said rear axle bevel gears,one of said bevel gears being carried by a sleeve revolubly mounted uponthe shaft, a casing inclosing the bevel gears through Which said shaftand sleeve project, a pair of equal gears mounted upon the ends of saidprojecting -shaft and sleeve, a drive element formed with an inclosingcasing over said equal gears, differential gears journaled in the easingof said drive element and meshing With said equal gears, and a yokeformed on said casing and providing part of a .universal joint in saiddriving element.

' In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of twowitnesses:

JOSEPH L. WARE.

